Monthly Archives: March 2013

Have you noticed the trend in tardiness among many, or is it just me? It seems like it’s become more and more common for people to be late to everywhere they go. Being on time is so much more than just a simple action and it say a lot about a person. In many situations, being on time means being early. The act of being on time is a quality college athletes are forced to learn in a strict way but also helpful in the transition into the workplace.

In the world of sports, I learned (the hard way) if you’re not 10 minutes early; you’re late. To be completely honest, my freshman year I struggled a few times learning how to be onetime to AM weight lifting. It is not something I was proud of and it was definitely a lesson learned the hard way, but I learned the importance of being on time and it is something I have transferred into all other aspects of my life.

Showing up on time shows that you are responsible and dependable. I think this especially important in teams on the court and in the office. Showing your teammates and colleagues you are dependable allows them to gain trust in you and proves you can be reliable and responsible.

Showing up on time shows that you are disciplined. A person that is on time proves that they can organize their time to take care of their business. It shows that they can organize and prepare for whatever they need to do.

Showing up on time shows your integrity. If you make and appointment to meet someone at 10am, you have essentially made a promise to them. Now if you show up at 10:15 you have basically broken that promise, showing that you can not be a man/woman of your word.

Showing up late to appointments, meetings, work, etc. it shows selfishness and shows that you are putting your needs above another’s. Being on time shows that you have respect for others. For example showing up to class on time show that you are not only ready to learn, but you show the professor respect.

Showing up late hurts our professional careers. Many companies have a strict policy on tardiness in the workplace. Lets be honest, showing up late to an interview is not going to get you the position in the first place.

Being able to be on time will only set you up for success. As athletes we learn the discipline of being on time, or even early, to where we have to be.

Personally, I have experienced one of the toughest travel schedules in collegiate athletics. From my freshman to junior year I played in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and my senior year I played in the Mountain West Conference. The distance between the schools I had to travel to, from Hawaii to Louisiana, ranged between 3983.34 miles. Due to amount of travel I experienced over those years, it’s safe to say I am a frequent and experienced traveler. Being a frequent traveler is another quality student-athletes develop through participating in athletics that translates and is helpful in many careers today.

During my in-season travel my team traveled every other week. Each week we would play two teams, one on Thursday and one on Saturday. The weeks we were away our schedule would look like this:

Wednesday: Travel, Practice, Check-in to hotel, Team dinner
Thursday: Practice, Pre-Game Meal, Game at 7pm
Friday: Travel to the next school
Saturday: Practice, Pre-Game Meal, Game at 7pm
Sunday: Travel back home

As you can see, we were constantly on the move, traveling from one school to the next. Over my career I became very familiar with many of the west coast airports.

Archeologist, consultants, and sales are all examples of careers that demand frequent travel. Now if you have ever flown, you understand the chaos one encounters getting though airport security, finding your way through airports, and preparing enough time. The more one travels, the more familiar they become with what to do and what not to do . Planning what to pack, checking or carrying on baggage, and preparing enough time to get through security are all things one becomes effective at the more they travel.

Few understand the amount of time, dedication, and commitment it takes to participate in collegiate athletics. Being a student-athlete means commitment… especially to the individuals on a scholarship. From the verbal commitment a student-athlete makes to attend a school, to the ongoing commitment made to coaches and teammates throughout their career. Student- athletes learn the value of commitment through participating in collegiate athletes; a lesson not learned by many at this age.

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” –Vince Lombardi– American football coach

Said by one of the best, commitment to excellence is essential. Successful athletes are committed; committed to themselves, their team, a common team purpose, and training.

Think about the thousands of high school athletes that choose to be a “regular student” in college because of the amount of commitment it takes to participate in college athletics. The commitment change from high school athletics to college is unbelievable. There is so much more behind the scenes of being a collegiate athlete and many can’t handle the commitment and responsibility. The time commitment is one of the biggest aspects many overlook.

As a collegiate athlete, in order to be successful one has to understand-you have to be committed to success. The hardest part about being committed to your personal goals and even goals set by the team is that they take time. If you are truly committed… be patient and you will achieve your goals.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” –Michael Jordan

It’s hard to fully explain the feeling of a game time pressure situation if you have never experienced one. The thrill, competition, and heart racing moments of the final seconds of a game, to me, is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences in life. There is nothing like hundreds of sets of eyes watching you perform in clutch situations. These types of pressure situations develop athlete’s character ready for the life of our high pressure business world.

Working under pressure builds and reveals character. Whether you’re taking the winning shot, last play with 4th and inches, or up to bat in the 9th inning, these pressure situations develop character. Some people crack and fold under pressure and some rise to the occasion. Participating in collegiate athletes helps individuals rise to the occasion and preform under pressure.

As an athlete I have learned that through athletics, we learn from our wins and losses. From experiencing these types of outcomes, we are not only prepared for them the next time they happen, but also for the “real-life” situations that parallel game win and losses. These experiences translate into the business world perfectly. There is always pressure in a company to perform from company decisions, timelines, etc. the lessons learned through athletics prepares individuals for these types of business situations.

Through pressure situations I personally have built character, confidence, and experience. Lessons learned through pressure situations add to the multiple qualities athletes gain through sport that translates into the business world.

For tips on Playing Well Under Pressure check out this article by Coach Jack Stallings- Former Head Baseball Coach at Georgia Southern University

What have you learned through your personal pressure situations? Comment below!

One trait often discussed about athletes is –are they coachable? This term is thrown around in athletics a lot, but what does it really mean? Being a coachable player is a skill that is developed, and means a lot of different things to different people. To me it means a variety of qualities that a player possess. Let’s see how coachable you are according to the traits that I think are key in a coachable player.

First, being coachable means being self-motivated. This is important because self-motivated individuals want to improve themselves and understand that what the coach is telling you is not only to improve your individual skills set, but to help the team be successful.

Next, a coachable player is willing and able to take constructive criticism in all forms to learn from it. When being criticized it is important to understand that it is not a personal attack, but rather the coach is telling you things on how you can help make the team better.

A coachable player is able to communicate with coaches. During the course of the season, there are issues that come up from frustrations, playing time, misunderstandings, and so on. Having open communication shows the coach that you are coachable.

A coachable player is also one who listens. Active listening helps players grow to their potential. Listening to your coaches and your teammates shows maturity and eagerness to get better.

Finally, one of the most important qualities in a coachable player is one who knows how to sacrifice. A lot of times this means sacrificing your personal stats for the better of the team and the team goals. This could mean sacrificing the partying Friday night to go to the gym with teammates or sacrificing shooting the game winning shot when you have a teammate wide open under the basket. Whatever it might be, sacrifice is one of the true test to a coachable player.

Think which of these qualities you possess and which ones you could work on. Comment below and share your thoughts with me!

How many times does your coach have to tell you what to do before you take the initiative yourself? Whether on the court, track, field, or water, student-athletes won’t make it far if coaches always have to tell them what to do. There won’t always be someone to monitor and motivate them every step of the way. Student-athletes that are self-motivated are the ones that highly succeed in the workplace after sports.

Adding to the other reasons I have discussed previously in my blog regarding why student-athletes transition well into the workplace, is the self-motivation quality that many athletes possess. This motivation is not just simply to win, it comes from within. It comes from the pure desire of beating the competition, its motivation to constantly improve you and the people around you. Imagine how this quality directly translates into work life after college.

Managers want employees who are self-motivated and determined to constantly improve themselves and the employees around them. This type of quality is great for the work environment and culture many companies strive after. At work, companies are always looking for ways to improve and be more efficient. Your manager is going to want to keep you around if he/she doesn’t have to micromanage you and they know you’re determined to reach that next company goal. Self-motivation is just another one of the many qualities student-athletes gain from sport that transfers into the work environment.